PORTLAND Three airlines recently announced plans to reduce flights at Portland International Airport (PDX). American Airlines is cutting one flight a day to Dallas/Fort Worth; and Horizon at the end of August will cut flights between Portland and Seattle from 31 to 21 per day (five in each direction). United Airlines announced cutbacks in early June but did not specify the number of PDX flights affected.

It comes at a time when PDX will be handling a record number of travelers this summer. Annually, it is now at about 15 million passengers. But despite the crush, the nipped flights and ongoing construction, several surveys put PDX at the top of its class. It was ranked No. 3 in on-time departures for 2007 by the U.S. Department of Transportation and this past winter, the Transportation and Security Administration named PDX the agency’s Western Area Airport of the Year for “exceptional courtesy and attentiveness to passengers while offering the highest quality of airport security.” In October, Condé Nast Traveler magazine picked PDX as the best U.S. airport for the second year in a row. PDX received the top overall score from business travelers who rated airports on their location/access, ease of connections, customs/baggage, food/shops/amenities, comfort/design, and perceived safety/security.

One poke in the eye was by an online survey this spring by J.D. Power and Associates that ranked PDX No. 19 on a list of 21 medium-sized U.S. airports, scoring at the bottom in overall airport satisfaction, airport accessibility, terminal facilities, and food and retail services.